MiriamTrotter from Baltimore was looking for a recipe for what she called sugar cakes. She said her husband's grandmother used to make these soft, thick cookies that were not overly sweet, and that they were a favorite of her daughter and husband. She said that the ingredients were flour, sugar, butter, sour cream and baking soda, but her husband's grandmother passed away before she wrote down the actual recipe.

TrishKoza from Iowa City, Iowa, thought she just might have the recipe that Trotter was searching for. She said that her mother-in-law made soft sugar cookies for years and that many of her relatives claimed that she had given them her special recipe. However, Koza thought they never tasted quite the same as the originals. After her mother-in-law died, Koza came across her original, grease-stained recipe card for the cookies and made color copies and sent them around to every aunt and cousin so they would have the "real" recipe. She sent me a copy too, so I decided to bake up a batch to try.

If you are a fan of simple, unadulterated soft sugar cookies, you are certain to enjoy these. The first sheet I baked looked a little plain, so I gave the next batch a good dusting of colored sugar sprinkles.

Dressed up with sprinkles, these cookies would be a welcome addition to any holiday cookie tray, but they're also terrific just for snacking with a glass of cold milk or maybe even better dipped in a cup of coffee or tea.

Requests

PatriciaO'Neill from Granger, Ind., wrote to say that when she was little girl, age 8 or 9, she had the pleasure of eating a rolled sponge cake filled with strawberry-flavored whipped cream. She said she has tried to reproduce the cake but failed miserably. She was hoping a reader would have a foolproof recipe for a filled sponge cake they could share with her.

If you are looking for a recipe or can answer a request, write to Julie Rothman, Recipe Finder, The Baltimore Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278 or email baltsunrecipefinder@gmail.com. If you send in more than one recipe, please put each on a separate piece of paper and be sure to include your name, address and daytime phone number. Important: Name and hometown must accompany recipes in order to be published. Please list the ingredients in order of use, and note the number of servings each recipe makes. Please type or print contributions. Letter and recipes may be edited for clarity.

Soft sugar cookies

Makes: About 3 dozen

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons baking soda (dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water)

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 1/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375.

By hand, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and the dissolved baking soda. In a separate bowl, sift flour and salt together, then add to batter and stir until smooth.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased and floured or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Use the bottom of a sugar coated glass to gently flatten each dough ball before baking.